Looking ForwardIdaho will split forces down the middle in its team opener this weekend with half the squad competing at the Sam Adams Classic (Spokane, Wash.) and the other at the Sun Angel Classic (Tempe, Ariz.).

Historically SpeakingIdaho won 12 events last year at the Sam Adams Classic meet. Sophomore Johanna Hocketstaller (discus throw), junior Cait Rowland (100m Hurdles, 400m Hurdles), sophomore Abby Larson (10000m), sophomore Allee Cooper (100m), junior Holly Stanton (3k Steeplechase), senior Sarah Nutsch (Hammer Throw), and Morgan Dunning (Pole Vault) all won titles for the Vandal women last season. Sophomore Ben Ayesu-Attah (200m, 400m), junior Kyle Rothwell (hammer throw), and junior Dylan Watts (pole vault) were Idaho’s men’s champions at the meet. This is the first time the Idaho track and field has competed at the Sun Angel Classic, and the first time in nine years the team has traveled to Arizona.

A Quick RecapSenior Barry Britt, junior Kyle Rothwell, and sophomore Matt Sullivan were the three Vandal competitors at the Stanford Invitational last weekend. Britt led the way with his career-best time of 14:03.48 in the 5000m, .2 away from beating the Idaho school record set in 1982. His time moves him into first in the WAC by a margin of 15 seconds and ranks 32rd in the NCAA so far this season. Sullivan hit a career-best mark of 16-10.75 (5.15m) in the pole vault moving him into fourth all-time in Idaho’s record books, while teammate Rothwell leaped to the same height (16-10.75, 5.15m). Their marks rank 2nd best in WAC and 43rd in NCAA so far this season.

NCAA Outdoor QualificationNCAA outdoor track and field is in the fourth season of the two-region national qualification system. The top 48 athletes in each event qualify for the NCAA Preliminary Rounds, which are split between the East and West Regions. The Preliminary Round sites host the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships qualifying rounds of the field events and the opening rounds through semifinals of track events (depending on the event distance). In the first year of the system in 2010, Idaho had eight women and five men qualify for the NCAA West Preliminary Round. Last season, six women and seven men qualified. This year’s NCAA West Preliminary will be hosted by the University of Texas at Austin.